The CSO reported on Thursday Jan 17th, that Irish Consumer Prices in
December, as measured by the CPI, increased by 0.1% in the month.
This compares to an increase of 0.3% in December of last year. The
annual rate of inflation fell to 4.7%, down from 5.0% in November
2007.

The EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP)
rose by 0.1% in the month, compared to an increase of 0.4% in
December 2006. The annual rate of inflation, as measured by the HICP,
fell from 3.5% in November to 3.2% in December.

The most notable changes in the year were increases
in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+15.1%),
Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+6.3%), Education (+6.0%)
and Transport (+5.1%). There were decreases in Clothing &
Footwear (-6.2%) and Furnishings, Household Equipment&Routine
Household Maintenance (-2.3%).

The annual rate of inflation for Services was 6.5%
in December, while Goods increased by 2.7% in the year.

Alcoholic
Beverages & Tobacco prices rose due to the increase in
excise duties on cigarettes and other tobacco products announced
in the Budget in December.

Food &
Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose due to price increases across a
wide range of products including biscuits and bread.

Housing,
Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels rose due to increases
in average mortgage interest repayments and higher local
authority rents.

Clothing &
Footwear fell with lower prices for both clothing and
footwear.

The CPI excluding tobacco index for December
remained unchanged in the month and was up 4.7% in the year. The CPI
excluding energy products index was up 0.1% since November and
increased by 4.3% in the year. The CPI excluding mortgage interest
increased by 0.1% in the month and rose by 3.1% in the year.

Inflation on a downward trend - IBEC

The annual rate of consumer price inflation decelerated to 4.7% in
December, down from 5% in November. The EU harmonised measure of
inflation for Ireland fell from 3.5% to 3.2%.

Commenting on the figures, IBEC Chief
Economist David Croughan said: “This is a significant
and welcome reduction in the rate of inflation which we expect to
continue throughout 2008. Slower global growth should take the
pressure off energy and commodity prices. Inflation, we believe,
will fall to 3.5% by mid-year and below 2% by the end of the year."